They Really Are Mile High Tonight In Denver, Welcome Peyton!

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nflpassers.com

Peyton Manning, four-time MVP quarterback and future hall of famer, made it official today selecting the Denver Broncos as his new team.  Manning, far and away the greatest free agent of all time in the NFL, chose the Broncos over Tennessee and San Francisco ending what has been two weeks of great NFL suspense.  Manning's arrival in The Mile High City makes the Broncos an immediate threat not only to repeat as AFC West Champions but to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. 

"Music to my ears", was Willis McGahee's response when told of Manning's selection of Denver.  McGahee will give Manning the running back that he hasn't had in Indianapolis for years.  All of a sudden, Denver will have a balanced offensive attack.  Von Miller, Denver's defensive star said, "I love Tim Tebow on and off the field; he is a great teammate, but we can learn a lot more from Peyton Manning because he's been to Super Bowls, he's a four-time MVP."  One has to suspect that even the Tebow faithful in Denver will embrace Manning's arrival.

Word has it that Tim Tebow will be shopped immediately.  One has to believe that either Jacksonville or Miami will make a pitch to grab him just for ticket sales alone.  Tebow's value will only bring Denver a third or fourth round draft pick at best if a team decides to trade for him.  Otherwise, Tebow will be released from Denver. 

The signing of Manning not only makes the offense more balanced and dangerous but it immediately makes a huge difference for the Denver defensive unit.  The defense will not need to be on the field as much with Manning controlling the ball and eating the clock every Sunday.  The defense will be able to take greater risks with their pass rush and secondary coverage knowing that their offense will be able to score points.  Manning's signing changes all the dynamics of this team.

The real question will be how long it will take Manning to take the Broncos back to the Super Bowl.  Can he do it in his first year?  Will it take two years?  John Elway, Denver's President and former hall of fame quarterback, will do his best to put all the pieces together to make a run in Manning's first year.  Two of those pieces might include Manning's long-time center at Indianapolis, Jeff Saturday.  The other piece might be one of his favorite receivers, Dallas Clark.  The addition of these two players would add immediately to Manning's comfort level.

The fans of the Broncos must be flying high as they envision what could be a multiple year run at the Super Bowl.  Tebow will be fondly remembered for his exciting 2011 season and playoff run.  The fans of The Mile High City should be a mile high tonight.       

Spring Practice - College Top Twenty-Five

forbes.com

Spring Practice has commenced on the gridiron across the nation and it is time to weigh-in on this year's Top 25 teams.  It's early but you have to start somewhere.  Here's my picks going into Spring Practice.

25.       Utah - Will start making noises in the Pac 12.

24.       Boise State - No Kellen but Boise State             won't last long in the two digits.

23.       Nebraska - Taylor Martinez will rebound in 2012.

22.       TCU - Welcome to the Big 12, look for Casey Pachall to have a big year.

21.       Kansas State - Look for KState to pick-up where they left off in 2011.

20.       Stanford - No Andrew Luck but Barry Sanders Jr. joins the Cardinals.

19.       Michigan State - Look for the Spartans to drop Boise State in opener.

18.       Oklahoma State - Mike Gundy's team will be for real once again.

17.       Florida - Not quite ready for prime time but only a year away.

16.       Texas - Like Florida, not quite there but improving rapidly.

15.       Clemson - Which Tigers will show up, early season or end of season.

14.       Virginia Tech - Beamer's offense must catch up with the defense.

13.       West Virginia - Welcome to the Big 12 - Hope all that money will be worth it.

12.       Florida State - Seminoles eliminate penalties and they will find success in the ACC.

11.       Arkansas - Great team in toughest division of SEC, play both Alabama and LSU at home.

10.       Michigan - The team "UP NORTH" returns to the Top Ten; will lose to Ohio State.

9.         South Carolina - Spurrier's year to challenge Alabama and LSU. 

8.         Wisconsin - Montee Ball will challenge for the Heisman but come up short          

                                against the Buckeyes. 

7.         Oregon - The Ducks's offense will once again prevail until they face the Trojans.

6.         Georgia - Look for Georgia to rule the SEC East.

5.         Ohio State - Braxton Miller and Urban Meyer will make everyone forget about the sanctions.

4.         Oklahoma - Landry Jones will have a big year and the Sooners will contend for the

                                Championship.

3.         Alabama - The wait for the rematch is already on; The Crimson Tide reloads.

2.         LSU - Already counting the days to the rematch; LSU's defense only gets better.

1.         USC - Matt Barkley didn't stay to come in second; the Trojans roar back off probation. 

Peyton Manning Bids Farewell To Indianapolis - What A Class Act!

tmz.com

newsday.com

As I watched Peyton Manning and Robert Irsay of the Indianapolis Colts today deliver the news to the sporting world of Peyton's departure, I was reminded of how responsible, caring, and distinguished leaders set themselves apart from others.  Every professional athlete, manager, coach, general manager and owner would benefit from watching these two gentlemen address the news media and fans of their decision.  Both handled themselves with distinction and class.

Emotional for both men but not one negative shot taken at each other, the team, the league or the city of Indianapolis.  It was Communication 101 brilliantly performed and delivered.  It was clear that they cared for each other, their team and their city.  It was clear that it was a business decision that was very difficult for both of them.  Their delivery of the decision made you feel bad for each of them as you knew it was difficult for both men.

So many times we have witnessed bitter disputes between players and owners that make you want to pick sides and point blame.  Today's decision didn't have that type of impact on you.  You felt each man's pain and could hardly blame the Colts for choosing to move forward in a different direction.  You didn't feel embittered because Peyton will be wearing another team's colors this coming season.  How unusual is that feeling? 

At the same time, everyone knew that this day was coming when Peyton Manning would no longer be wearing the horseshoe of Indianapolis.  Still, it was difficult to fathom as you listened to the words of both Manning and Irsay.  Peyton Manning..no longer a Colt.  Wow!  Doesn't seem right, doesn't seem fair.  The new reality is that Peyton will be playing in a new NFL city very soon. 

No news yet on what city that will be.  The speculation will run rampant for days, weeks on end until all of the negotiations, visits and decisions are made.  Is Manning healthy?  This will be the million dollar question that not only the various teams bidding for his services will want answers to but also to the millions of fans who just want to see Manning play again. 

Every night on Sports Center and all the talk radio sports shows will have their daily dose of Manning updates.  The analysis of what teams would benefit from having Manning as their quarterback.  What teams would contend for the playoffs and Super Bowl right away if Manning became their quarterback.  What teams would be best for Manning's skills and leadership.  The Manning questions will be comparable to the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. 

The process should be a good one and lots of fun during this off-season of no football.  The one thing we will be able to count on during the entire process is that Peyton Manning will handle himself as the leader he is.  Showing class, dignity and professionalism.  Whichever NFL city and team signs him, they will be all the better for it.    

Ryan Braun, Most Valuable Prevaricator

washingtonpost.com

Allow me to join all those that rejoiced this last week when Major League Baseball's MVP from last season, Ryan Braun, won his case and had his 50 game suspension overturned.   Major League Baseball's arbitrator ruled for the first time in a player's favor in the appeal process of a positive drug test.  Braun's drug test showed an elevated level of testosterone in his system.  Not only was it elevated significantly but it was of a synthetic nature meaning that Braun's body did not produce it.  Now that the MVP won his appeals process, Braun spoke out this week and earned the Most Valuable Prevaricator award too.

Braun and his attorneys chose to fight their appeal on the basis that there was a breach in the chain of control of the specimen.  They did not dispute the specimen itself.  It appears that they won their appeal on this technicality.  His appeal victory was not enough.  Braun spoke publicly to deny that he ever used any performance-enhancing drug and then without skipping a beat, Braun chose to lay the blame on Dino Laurenzi Jr., the collector of his sample. 

Our MVP's statement, "There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way the entire thing works, that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened, " 

The mendacity of Ryan Braun is of MVP proportions.  One has to pause for a moment to consider the credibility of a Major League Baseball player versus a Director of Rehabilitation Services with an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin with Master Degrees earned at the University of North Carolina and Loyola University of Chicago.  Who should we believe?  We've had some past experience with the credibility of Major League Baseball players such as Roger Clemons, Bobby Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez to name just a few. 

Once again, one has to ask the obvious question of what benefit did a collector of specimens have to gain by tampering with the specimens?  Nothing.  What did Ryan Braun have to gain?  Everything.  Even the vast majority of those playing in the game question the overturn of the decision.  Some players are actually worried about the integrity of the game.  That's a novel thought, isn't it.  Where has that attitude been the last 15 years?

I suspect that we have not heard the end of the Ryan Braun matter.  Not just the smattering of disenchanted fans he will face all season but maybe even in the courtroom if Dino Laurenzi Jr. decides that his reputation is every bit as important as Braun's.  By all accounts, the specimens arrived in pristine condition with the tamper-free seals and identification numbers intact.  We all know or have had experiences ourselves of the drug testing that takes place today.  Even many of the lowest paying jobs in America require drug testing.  My guess is that Major League Baseball standards for collections reach far beyond the strip-mall collection agencies that exist in every city in America. 

I can't believe Ryan Braun's story.  I gave up on Major League Baseball years ago and for me, Braun joins the ranks of his fellow performance-enhancing drug users who have selfishly placed themselves above the integrity of the game.  Braun took it one step further by placing the blame on someone who was just doing their job and doing it the way he was asked to.      

Knicks-Must Watch Television-Thanks To Lin

cbsnews.com

I am reminded of my high school years, 1966-1970, when the New York Knicks were the team to watch with the likes of Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley and Willis Reed, one of the great NBA teams of all time.  Again, the Knicks are the team to watch thanks to the play of sensation, Jeremy Lin.  Yesterday, Lin did not disappoint leading the Knicks to a come from behind victory over the World Champs, Dallas Mavericks, leading the way with 28 points and a career high 14 assists. 

Lin(sanity) has taken on a life of its own of late as the Knicks have gone from one of the NBA's poor performing teams to a team that reached .500 yesterday with their victory over the Mavs.  Jeremy Lin has taken the spotlight from Tim Tebow as the one player who all of America is following.  Endorsement deals are coming his way, jersey sales are way up and if his superior performance continues, the Knicks just may compete for the championship.

Waived by both the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Lin was only days away from being released by the Knicks after playing only 55 minutes in the Knicks first 23 games.  The Harvard graduate had his breakout game in a win over the Nets scoring 25 points, capturing 5 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists.  The rest is Lin(sanity) as they say.  If it turns out that Lin and injured Carmelo Anthony are able to work together on the court, the Knicks will definitely be a team to watch for come playoff time. 

The bigger story with Lin is the hunger across America for the great sports story.  The NFL season captured everyone's attention with the emergence of Tim Tebow and his on the field heroics week in and week out.  The American sports fan loves the underdog and is engaged day in and day out on sports radio, television, online and in the newspapers.  Tebow and the Broncos won a playoff game and kept the dream alive.  Once the NFL season ended, no one expected another story of such magnitude. 

The NBA coming off the labor problems, the shortened and almost aborted season, needed an exciting and vibrant story and they have it in Jeremy Lin.  So does America.  These fascinating sports stories capture our imagination at a time when we need them to.  Unemployment, difficult times and the upcoming election all can be shoved aside while we watch the magic of an improbable and wonderful story unfold before us at Madison Square Garden and arenas across the nation in the likes of Jeremy Lin. 

Like everyone else, I am delighted with Lin's story and the emergence of the Knicks as a solid NBA team.  Let's hope that the story continues and that Lin's performance is everything we could dream for.    

Tiger Time-It's Coming-Very Soon!

voiceseducation.org

Last weekend gave us all a glance of what we have been missing on the PGA Tour,  Tiger Woods in contention.  It also gave us more of the same with Tiger's game coming apart at the seams .  Tiger never really showed up on Sunday to compete with Phil Mickelson, who played brilliantly in winning the Pebble Beach Open. 

The weekend was filled with Tiger moments though and clearly it looks like Tiger is on the verge of breaking free from his prolonged drought of being a serious contender on Sunday.  For those who tuned in, they saw Tiger playing terrific off the tee and solid with his iron play.  His overall putting was pretty good until Sunday's round when he just couldn't drop anything. 

Seeing Mickelson and Woods paired together on a Sunday was something that all of the golf world has been hoping for since Tiger's wheels came off.  The two of them are fun to watch and generally bring out the best in each other's games. 

Tiger's play over the weekend and actually his play thus far this year has been a dramatic improvement over what we have been seeing for quite some time now.  The swing looks pretty solid.  He's crunching the ball like we remember.  You have to think that where his game is, it's really only a matter of time before the confidence kicks in.

A confident Tiger will win.  He looked surprisingly comfortable over the weekend until Sunday when he stopped making putts.  He started out rough on Sunday and after a half dozen holes, it was obvious that  he would fall short.  However, his game is coming together in such a fashion that it puts him in a rather good position with the Masters only six weeks away.  He will have a few tournaments to play between now and then and plenty of time to build his confidence level.    

Out on a limb and certainly not one that does very well predicting anything; I do believe that Tiger Woods will return to Augusta this year and win the "Green Jacket".  I know the course has changed but Woods knows it as well as anyone and everyone knows how competitive he is when it comes time to play the majors.  I believe the 2012 Masters will be the second coming of Tiger Wood's quest to overtake The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.     

Peyton Manning - The Sweepstakes

bostinno.com

By most accounts, Peyton Manning will not be wearing the white and blue of the Indianapolis Colts for the 2012 season.  All that remains is the meeting to decide his fate in Indianapolis with owner, Robert Irsay.  In the meantime, Manning is fast at it working his arm and body showing all to see that he will be capable of performing on the field for the 2012 season. Anyone who has watched the career of Peyton Manning knows, it would be foolish to count him out and think that his playing days are over. 

No question it will be hard for Indianapolis to say goodbye to Peyton Manning.  He is loved in Indianapolis.  He will not retire with the Colts unless Irsay chooses to rebuild around him.  Chances of that are remote.  Most likely, the Colts will use their number one overall draft choice to take Andrew Luck of Stanford and Manning will be released.  Here's where the fun begins for all fans of the NFL.

When was there ever a free agent the likes of Peyton Manning available?  Never!  Manning was voted four times the Most Valuable Player of the National Football League.  Manning is a consistent winner.  The best argument for what Manning brings to the field is this past year when the Colts failed miserably without him.  Let the sweepstakes begin.  Who's in line to change their destiny, winning ways and formula for success. 

Few teams in the NFL should be excluded from the Manning sweepstakes.  Unless you have a comparable quarterback, Manning could turn your franchise around in just one year.  Of course, Manning is the one who gets to choose so one has to give consideration to where he would like to play.  That will exclude many teams right away.  Manning will want an effective offensive line.  Manning will want some skilled offensive weapons.  Manning is accustomed to running the offense his way and will want to play for a team that largely will turn over the offense to him.  Given those parameters, the search for the winner of the Manning sweepstakes narrows.

Review of NFL franchises, it would seem to me that the sweepstakes comes down to four teams.  The four include the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals.  All four teams need a quarterback and all four teams would immediately challenge for the Super Bowl with the addition of Peyton Manning.  Even though Seattle meets most of the parameters, it is unlikely that Manning would want to play that far away from what has been his home.  That takes us to three competitors for his services, the Redskins, Dolphins and the Cardinals. 

All three teams have the money to add Manning to their roster.  All three have good offensive lines and skill players.  All three teams would benefit from Manning's on and off the field leadership.  In the end, the sweepstakes will come down to where Peyton Manning feels he has the best chance to win a Super Bowl.  My guess is that he has poured over film, reviewed team rosters and talked to others about coaches.  My guess is that money will play only a minor role in his decision.  No question, winning will be the primary goal. 

My best guess is the Washington Redskins.  It would create quite the buzz.  Then again, the team that I haven't mentioned, the New York Jets could enter the sweepstakes too.  Two Super Bowl Manning quarterbacks playing in the same city.  I really don't think that will happen because of the Jets personality.  Doesn't really fit the likes of Peyton Manning.  No, I think Washington wins the sweepstakes and Manning will be playing in our nation's capital for 2012. 

If Peyton plays in 2012, in my mind, there is no doubt that he will not only be the Comeback Player of the Year but more than likely, vie for his fifth Most Valuable Player award.  No matter what, the next few weeks will be exciting as the sweepstakes unfold.